GE2020: Tharman to remain anchor minister for PAP's Jurong GRC team
SINGAPORE — Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam will remain as anchor minister for the People’s Action Party’s (PAP) Jurong Group Representation Constituency (GRC) team heading into the General Election (GE) on 10 July.
Also included in the PAP’s slate of candidates for the district are Dr Tan Wu Meng, Rahayu Mahzam, Shawn Huang Wei Zhong and newly introduced Xie Yao Quan. The line-up was unveiled in a post on the GRC’s Facebook page on Monday (29 June).
He revealed this at a party media doorstop in Bukit Batok East, during which he also responded to speculation that he would be fielded to run in East Coast GRC.
Tharman, who has been an MP for Jurong GRC since 2001, led his PAP team to a decisive victory over the Singaporeans First team during the GE2015, earning 79.3 per cent of the vote share.
“You know in Jurong we till the soil... I’ve been here 20 years. We take the elections very seriously. Even if it’s a brand new party, we take them very seriously,” he said during a media doorstop at the PAP’s branch office in Bukit Batok East. He was referring to the newly formed Red Dot United party, which has signalled its intention to run in Jurong GRC.
“Our whole aim is to serve people and build on what we’ve been doing. So it’s not just about the elections... but about what we do throughout our term,” added Tharman in response to a reporter’s question.
“I’m confident of our record but more importantly, I’m confident about our ability to improve on what we do: working with residents, developing new schemes and keeping a humble tone in all we do. We’re here to serve,” he said.
New face introduced
At the same doorstop, Tharman also introduced the party’s newest candidate for Jurong GRC, 35-year-old Xie Yao Quan.
Xie, who is the head of healthcare redesign at Alexandra Hospital, replaces former candidate Ivan Lim, who withdrew from the election race on Saturday night following following a controversy involving allegations made against him online.
“Yao Quan is at least equal to our other candidates. It’s always a really tough decision as to who is in that first line-up... Those who stay on the sidelines initially are not inferior,” said Tharman of Xie.
“I’ve always been keen on Yao Quan because he was here, he was leading and he was well-regarded.”
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